


Cold

by TheFreeJoker42



Series: Metsubojinrai.fam [5]
Category: Kamen Rider Zero-One
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Angst, Horobi being looked after because he bloody well deserves it, Memory Loss, not the kindest to this new Jin person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25311292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFreeJoker42/pseuds/TheFreeJoker42
Summary: The Ark left Horobi more broken than anyone could have imagined, and Ikazuchi is having a hard time with Jin.
Series: Metsubojinrai.fam [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607857
Comments: 9
Kudos: 15





	Cold

**Author's Note:**

> I'm personally very desensitised to violence and 'graphic' imagery so I have no real concept over what's considered 'too much', so I don't know if "Teen and Up" is the right category, but I'd rather play it safe.

It was so cold. Granted Ikazuchi couldn't feel temperature as such, and his internal scanning systems told him it was of average temperature, something humans might describe as mild. But cold was the only word he had to describe it. And even that didn't make any sense. In theory, if anything, the scorches around him should make him feel warm by association. 

He was frozen to the spot. In his mind, he'd walked through the exploded pieces a hundred times, but in reality, he just could not bring himself to move. He'd never felt such uncertainty before, he was created with the ability to act sharply, make quick decisions, he always knew what to do. Until now. 

He didn't know how long it took him to finally take a step forward. 

And another. 

And another. 

Until he'd cleared the gap. 

He should have ran to him like his life depended on it, he shouldn't have hesitated, he should have... Well, it didn't matter. He was there now. He knelt down slowly, trying not to touch any remnants of the explosion, but there was just no clear ground. And 'remnants of the explosion' was all he could call the pieces surrounding them both. He couldn't, of course, but if he called them what they were, HumaGear, he was sure he'd be sick. 

"Horobi..." His voice was softer than it had ever been before, and shakier than he ever thought possible. He reached out, though he was afraid to touch him, afraid Horobi too would fall apart if touched too roughly. 

"Horobi." He tried again, a little louder this time, hoping desperately to stir him. He eventually built up the courage to place a gentle hand on Horobi's arm, though that was all he could do. He didn't dare shake him. 

"Come on... talk to me..." 

His headwrap had long since fallen, the damage left behind from his ear modules visible, and very faintly glowing purple. He was almost afraid to look at them, he wasn't sure he could stomach watching the light fade out. 

"Okay, that's okay, we can do it like this. We'll get you home." 

He tightened his grip, and gently lifted Horobi into his arms. Ikazuchi stiffened. One side of Horobi's face was cracked terribly, it was almost impossible to tell where the new ones ended and the old ones began. One eye had turned a dull grey, and the other was too charred to see. Ikazuchi followed the damage, and found the synthetic skin along his entire arm had been burned, leaving the charred remains of the HumaGear skeleton. 

At that point, he had to stop looking. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to find Naki. 

"Ah. Together." 

"Naki..." 

Together, they were somewhat able to manage, with Ikazuchi lifting him and Naki keeping him steady, afraid that even the smallest of jolts would cause unspeakable damage. It was only a short distance, but it took long over an hour to get home. And while neither of them spoke, aside from an occasional 'careful' and 'slow down', they were both thinking the exact same thing. 

That this was hauntingly familiar. 

They'd had plenty of practice back in the day, and while it was never to this extent, they knew how to carry a damaged Horobi safely. It was almost like clockwork. 

It didn't make it any easier. 

At least he wasn't aware this time. His eyes were open, but he showed no signs of alertness. There were no gasps and pained struggles like last time. 

They laid him gently on the sofa. It hadn't been touched since... well, for a while. But it was the softest place in their hideout. Once he was sure Horobi was secure, Ikazuchi took a step back, his eyes drifting over to the hole in the wall. There was no satellite to ask for repairs now. 

"Ikazuchi..." 

"I'm going to kill him." 

"Ikazuchi, don't do something you'll regret. Horobi would not want Jin to come to harm-" 

"Want... Horobi hasn't wanted a damn thing in the last twelve years! He doesn't know how, he _can't_ , he's never had the chance! The last thing he's ever wanted was Jin! He deserves at least to not be abandoned and betrayed by his own son!" 

“I understand. But Horobi needs our attention now. Please try to calm down, for Horobi's sake.” 

Ikazuchi started to slow down, the fight draining from him, leaving only exhaustion behind. He looked back over to Horobi, and in that moment, every other instance of his injuries from the past flooded back. Every other time he and Naki had to rescue him, repair him, hide him. 

“I should have tried harder.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“The Ark was my responsibility. If anyone should have been able to resist, it’s me. It never should have got this far.” 

“You cannot blame yourself for being _hacked_ , Ikazuchi . Neither could you have tried harder to _not_ be hacked. That makes no sense.” 

“Horobi has always been there for us. Always... lived his life for others. Always put others first. Us. Jin. But then when he needed help, where was I?” 

“You were maintaining Zea acting as a spy. Then you were deactivated. Then you were hacked again. I don't understand what you think you could have done.” 

“There had to have been something! Jin got out, didn’t he?” 

“Perhaps you should stop focusing on what could have happened, and focus instead on what is happening. Nobody can change the past, but Horobi still needs us, and we are now in the position to help.” 

“Are we? We can hardly ask a damn satellite to repair him. And we don’t exactly have the tools to help.” 

“There will be tools and materials here somewhere, we just have to find them. You talk about what Horobi deserves, doesn’t he deserve for you to not give up on him now?” 

Ikazuchi didn’t have a response. He was just drained, and Naki was right. Horobi was still in need of help, and this time, he could actually offer it. He took Horobi’s hand, gently, before his earpieces flashed. 

“Jin... he has some nerve coming here!” He scrambled to his feet and sped through the door. 

“Go easy on him! For Horobi’s sake.” 

It felt like he was walking to his death. Ikazuchi was quick to reach the bridge, wanting to catch Jin before he made it inside. But as they both locked eyes with each other, the walk to close the gap between them felt like an eternity. 

There were so many things Ikazuchi wanted to say to him, so many things he _imagined_ saying, but now they were face to face, his tirade of angry thoughts floated away. He was almost lost for words. 

"What are you doing here? Did you come to finish the job?" 

"Horobi..." 

"I'm sorry to say he's doing well." 

It was a complete lie, of course, but what was he supposed to say? 

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this." 

"No, if you had your way, I'm sure we wouldn't have to deal with the consequences." 

"Ikazuchi nii-chan-" 

"Don't." 

Jin flinched back, with a wide doe-eyed expression, almost a cruel parody of his former self. 

"I don't know you. The Jin I watched grow and learn and adapt every day, who Horobi gave his _freedom_ to protect, was killed long ago. You may share his name, and his face, but those are the only things you have in common." 

It looked like tears would start to stream down Jin’s face at any moment, and it took all of Ikazuchi’s strength to not back down, and hug the poor child. He had to keep a tight grip of his anger as it tried to fade away, and it hurt him probably as much as it hurt Jin. 

He looked at the HumaGear with Jin’s face through rose-tinted nostalgic memories, and his instinct was to comfort him. He had to remind himself that no, this is not the adorable carefree little baby Jin he remembered. This is the stone cold Jin who for whatever reason had some kind of personal vendetta against them, against Horobi. 

“When Horobi is awake, I will ask him if he wants to see you. And he will naturally say yes, because you mean the world to him, and in his eyes, you’re a pure angel who can do no wrong. He will no doubt beg forgiveness from you because in his twisted broken view of the world, he deserves everything that’s been thrown at him, especially by you. But until I call for you, you stay the hell away.” 

Jin opened his mouth to speak, but he just couldn’t force any words out. He choked up. But eventually, he was able to make a sound, albeit a small, shaking one. 

“What do you mean... awake... is he not awake?” 

“No.” 

“You said he’s doing well!” 

“Yeah well, he’s alive, isn’t he? Compared to how he could have been, I’m pretty sure that’s the best we could ask for.” 

“I... I’m sorry." 

“Yeah. So am I.” 

Jin broke eye contact, and focused on the piece of material he was fiddling with, before passing it to Ikazuchi. 

“Just... give him this? It, they get sensitive without it.” 

Ikazuchi held the fabric in his hands, just as delicately as he held Horobi. Just like him, it was scorched, in desperate need of repairing. But his headwrap was something special, and he’d be willing to learn how to stitch for it. 

“I know.” 

Silence passed for just a moment longer, before Jin bit his lip, nodded his head, and turned to leave. Ikazuchi waited until he was no longer in view before returning. 

Horobi was certainly unconscious, and unable to feel anything, but his loose hair brushing against his earpiece damage was making _Naki_ feel squeamish. They knew how sensitive he was there, how he’d crumble if they were touched the wrong way. How even a soft breeze was excruciating for him. 

So Naki knelt by the sofa, and gently brushed the strands of hair away from the cracks. They continued running their fingers through his hair absent-mindedly in a way that could be described as comforting. 

They didn’t see it happen, neither of them did. Horobi had been alone for that. But both they and Ikazuchi had been there for the aftermath, seen him on the floor wide eyed, twitching, struggling to talk, only able to manage one word. ‘Jin’. 

“Hang in there.” Naki whispered, just as they had back then. “We’ve got you.” 

At the very least, he was stable. He wasn’t going anywhere – and Naki had prepared a backup just in case. He was safe. If they could just get him to wake up... When Ikazuchi returned, they’d focus their efforts on finding the tools to repair him. 

They didn’t expect him to open his eyes. 

“Horobi...” 


End file.
